PM Narendra Modi also said that he looked forward to Prime Minister Abe's visit to India later this year

Hamburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe reviewed the progress in bilateral ties, including important projects, during their meeting - eight months after the two nations inked a landmark civil nuclear cooperation pact.

The meeting between PM Modi and Japan's Abe comes as the navies of the two nations, along with the US, are engaged in a major naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal, where some of their frontline warships are deployed. China has been watching the Malabar trilateral exercise with unease.

Japan's bullet-train technology is being used by India for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor in western India, besides Japan is India's largest bilateral donor. Japan is possibly the only country involved in connectivity projects in India's northeast, where some states share a border with China.

"The two leaders briefly reviewed progress in bilateral relations, including in important projects, since their last meeting in Japan during Prime Minister's (Narendra Modi's) visit in November 2016," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement following the meeting between the two leaders on Friday.

PM Modi also said that he looked forward to Prime Minister Abe's visit to India later this year for the next annual bilateral summit and hoped that it would further strengthen cooperation between the two countries, according to the statement.

The Ahmedabad-Mumbai High Speed Rail, the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor with 12 new industrial townships, and the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor are all mega projects on the anvil.